31 July 2013

Macauley will be going to a different school for 5th and 6th grade. I think it's the only intermediate school in town. We were able to get all but two items on the school supply list on Sunday night and he has orientation on Monday, 12 August. He'll get a locker with a combination to learn and be put on one of three teams. He'll have four different teachers for the main subjects, plus music, art and PE. He got a new lunchbox and has been excited about different lunch possibilities since he saw the "student" microwave in the cafeteria on a visit last spring. He's going to miss sweet Wanda Gray Elementary--I think we all will--but he seems game for this new adventure.

30 July 2013

I can check a couple of things off that end-of-summer to-do list I mentioned: Macauley and I cleaned out his closet and his room in preparation for redecorating, which we plan to do next week after a trip to IKEA in Dallas for a new bed frame, mattress and some accessories. And, I managed to make a book out of Lindsay's wedding cards (she had a lot!) using her favorite color purple, some of the ribbons from her gifts, and a hint of the lovebird theme from the reception decor. All items I used (other than the 3" binder rings I got at Office Depot) were purchased from Michael's. I started with a wooden album cover by Heidi Swapp, to which I attached scrapbook paper on the outside and a complementary pattern on the inside. I added a felt bird that I found in a set from the dollar bin a long time ago, some linen look flowers by Recollections, a wooden J (for her new last name) that I spray painted black then sanded a bit, a purple ribbon from one of her gifts layered with some cream velvet ribbon and some pom-pom ribbon that I also bought from the dollar aisle around Valentine's Day. On the back cover, I glued a wooden medallion that I painted and sanded and some little pearl adhesive edging. I used Elmer's X-treme glue for the paper and Aleene's Super Gel Adhesive for the embellishments and ribbon. Both worked great. Lindsay had organized the cards by each event (three showers and her reception) and I used the holes on the wooden book cover as a template to punch the cards one at a time using a plain-old metal three-hole punch. This took a while and my right hand was sore and bruised the next day! Perhaps there is a better method out there, but that was mine. The 3" rings were just barely big enough to hold all the cards and the covers. I could have split them up, I guess, but I liked the idea of a single collection, so I pushed it a little. I cut scraps of ribbon, all from Michael's I believe, into roughly 4" strips then tied them all along the rings down the side. I tied a couple of pieces of ribbon and tulle inside the book where a new section started (with the invitation for that event). I very quickly glued some scrapbook paper to a cardboard box, put the book inside and tied more of the purple gift ribbon into a bow to take it to Lindsay's house, but I didn't get a picture of that. I thought about writing a little message inside the front cover, too, but didn't do that. I really like this idea (not my own--I've seen it done several ways on Pinterest) of making a keepsake out of cards rather than stashing them in a box. I was going for a kind of shabby, scrappy, layered look, and I hope Lindsay and her new hubs like it. There's no going back now...those holes are punched!

23 July 2013

We went on a family road trip to Chicago last week, just the three of us. I took lots of pictures, but this one of us inside a plexiglass box 104 stories up at the top of the former Sears Tower might be the most dramatic. It's also the one I look skinniest in. Bonus. No sooner had we pulled into the driveway from our 8+hour drive home when my dad called and asked if Macauley would want to go on a trip to Minnesota with them this week. He said yes, so I've got a quiet week at home now, which is lovely. I plan to make a photo book of our trip on Shutterfly, hopefully before school starts again. Which is coming up. Teachers go back for meetings on Friday, 9 August and the kids start on the following Wednesday. It would be nice if I could muster up the motivation to do some painting and cleaning work in my classroom before then, but I also have a list of things I'd like to get done before these luxurious summer days have come and gone. 1: Read at least 4 more books. 2: Clean out Macauley's closet. 3: Rework Macauley's room with a more pre-teen feel. 4: Make Chicago photobook. 5: Make a mini scrapbook out of all of Lindsay's wedding cards for her. 5: Add to my flea market booth. There are others, but that's a good start. It's been quite a summer--some great trips, a boy who's growing up, the loss of my Nanny...I'm not dreading the start of school, but I will miss these open days so much.

05 July 2013

We had a blast (lots and lots of them) this 4th. My mom and dad came up from Cassville and spent the day, then our good friends the Swans came over for the evening. We met at our neighborhood pool, which we had totally to ourselves. Macauley and their 3 girls swam in the rather frigid water until we dragged them out, and we had a yummy potluck dinner. Then we made our way back to our house and the kids put on quite the fireworks show for us. Our front sidewalk has some major black scars now that may never go away, but all in the name of fun, I suppose...Today Macauley and I took my mom and dad to see Lindsay and Tyson's lake house near Kimberling City. We went out on their new boat and had lunch at a little dock. It was a beautiful day on Table Rock. On the way home, we stopped at an antique mall and I liked a pair of Audubon prints but didn't leave with anything. My mom and dad headed back to Cassville and when Ryan got home from work we were off to the pool at Twin Oaks CC for our friend Stephanie's birthday party. Tomorrow we are going to meet Lane and Derek at a cabin on Bull Shoals Lake. Feels like we have been constantly buzzing around for weeks now...Fun stuff, but busy, busy...Not sure when I'll get to put away the red, white and blue decor in the dining room. I am thankful to live in a country where I can do the things I want to when I want to do them, a place I feel safe and happy, a place where I am fortunate well beyond what I deserve. What I did in the grand scheme of life to be born here and not somewhere else, I can't say, but I am grateful and need to pay it forward.